Night of the Werecat by R.L. Stine

1

    Y ou can do this, Wendy. Concentrate .
    Wendy Chapman focused all her attention on the four-inch-wide beam. Gymnastics was her favorite after-school club. But the balance beam terrified her.
    â€œLooking good,” her best friend, Tina Barnes, called.
    I won’t fall this time. I won’t! The floor was so far below. Wendy took a deep breath. She fought back her terrible fear of heights. It didn’t help that she had never been very surefooted.
    Halfway across, she steadied her outstretched arms. But she could feel her balance beginning to waver.
    â€œPssssssst!” Wendy glanced toward the sound comingfrom the bleachers. Nancy Morrow’s smirking face caught her eye. Nancy hissed again, then windmilled her arms. She was imitating someone falling!
    Wendy forced her eyes back to the beam. Forget Nancy! she scolded herself. Concentrate on the balance beam.
    But it was too late. That glance away made her dizzy. Wendy teetered, then fell off the beam. Ms. Mason, her gymnastics coach, stopped Wendy from crashing onto the mat. But she landed awkwardly and stumbled forward.
    â€œWhat’s the matter, Wendy?” Nancy taunted. “I thought cats always landed on their feet.” She began laughing, and some of Nancy’s snobby friends joined in.
    Wendy’s face burned with embarrassment. Nancy was always teasing her!
    â€œThat’s enough, Nancy,” Ms. Mason said. She patted Wendy’s shoulder. “It was a good try, Wendy. You’re improving.”
    â€œThanks,” Wendy said faintly. She faked a smile. But inside she felt awful. On Saturday the top three girls in the club would be chosen to represent Shady-side Middle School at the all-city meet. I’ll never make the team now, Wendy thought sadly.
    On the way to the locker room, Nancy bumped into Wendy. “Maybe your little cat friends can give you lessons, Wendy,” she said with a sneer. “Cats have good balance, don’t they?” Nancy smoothed back her perfectly combed, shiny black hair.
    Self-consciously Wendy pushed her own thin blondhair out of her face. “Leave me alone!” Wendy snapped.
    â€œGee, I thought it was a great idea,” Nancy went on. Her voice sounded sweet, but Wendy knew better. “I thought you’d love to be more like a precious kitty cat.”
    *  *  *
    â€œWhy can’t Nancy leave me alone?” Wendy complained as she and Tina left school after Gymnastics Club.
    Tina shrugged. “She’s just jealous because you skipped a grade.” Wendy had skipped fifth grade. Most of the other kids in sixth grade were twelve, but she was barely eleven. But that didn’t bother Wendy. Her mother said Wendy was advanced for her age. “Don’t worry,” Tina continued, tightening her long, brown ponytail, “Nancy will find someone else to pick on sooner or later.”
    â€œWell, I wish she’d do it soon!” Tina and Wendy looked both ways, then crossed over to the bus stop. “And why does she hate cats so much, anyway?” Wendy couldn’t imagine how anyone could dislike the beautiful animals.
    â€œDidn’t you know?” Tina asked. “She’s really allergic to them. Her brother told me if she even gets near a cat, she breaks out and starts sneezing.”
    â€œI wish I had a cat to stick right under her nose right now!” Wendy declared.
    Tina giggled. Her big, brown eyes twinkled. “Maybe you can get one at the cat show.”
    The Shadyside cat show opened that afternoon.Wendy and Tina had been looking forward to it for weeks.
    â€œIf only.” Wendy sighed. She loved cats. But her parents wouldn’t let her have one.
    A red city bus pulled up to the stop. “Cat show, here we come!” Wendy cheered. She and Tina slapped each other high fives, then boarded the bus.
    The cat show took place in an empty store across from the Division Street Mall. As the girls stepped off the bus,